Sorry for their loss...

I have personally plucked several drowning people out of the water while chasing a cat regattas.

None were wearing life jackets.

Every one of them was hypothermic.

The dude we plucked out of the water at the Tiger Worlds in Santa Barbara took his last breath and then gulped water as we arrived on scene and was floating just under the surface.
We got him on board, got him breathing, I took off all of my foulies and tried to warm him up while we hauled butt to meet the Coastguard. He was barely conscious. It was pretty emotional seeing a person take what would have been his last breath if we wouldn't have pulled him out of the water. We were about 2 miles offshore, the wind was howling over 40, the water was frigid and this guy was in shorts and a t- shirt and had no life jacket. He was blown offshore by the powerful Santa Anas while kayaking.

A PFD would've added buoyancy as well as a slight layer of insulation. That guy would've still been screwed as he was en route to Santa Cruz Island.

So, story after story, no life jacket, people die. What's it going to take?

J